FLESH FOOD FEOM MAMMALS. 65 



Mr. Gray, in his work "Fourteen Months in Canton," 

 thus speaks of cats and dogs as human food : — " The 

 black cat is much more prized for food than any other 

 of the feUne race. We went upstairs leading to the 

 saloon, where several small dining tables were placed. 

 At one of these tables we saw a man with a little basin 

 full of steaming stew. We went to him and said ' Meau?' 

 (cat), and he answered ' Yau ' (yes). It had a very dark 

 appearance (warranted black cat, I should think), and 

 had a most savoury smell. On the wall a bill of fare 

 was placed, stating the cost of a repast of dog and cat. 

 This is the correct rendering : ' One tael of black dog's 

 flesh, 8 cash ; one tael weight of black dog's fat, 3 kan- 

 dereens of silver ; one basin of black cat's flesh, 100 cash ; 

 one small basin of black cat's flesh, 50 cash; and one pair 

 of black cat's eyes, 3 kandereens of silver.' These restau- 

 rants are crowded at the celebration of the Hachi, or fes- 

 tival of the summer solstice, by men of all ranks. To 

 eat dog's flesh, especially black dog's flesh, on that day 

 is to secure the eater against sickness for the summer." 



The young dogs are brought to market in baskets 

 made of bamboo, as also are young cats intended for the 

 table. When delivered to the cook they are killed, 

 scalded in boiling water, and the skin scraped with 

 the blade of a knife to remove the hair, as is done with 



When boiled, the flesh is cut up into small pieces that 

 can be eaten with the chopsticks, each piece being dipped 

 in soy and mixed with fish or rice. The young dogs 

 and cats are highly esteemed as food dainties by the rich 

 Chinese, while the poorer classes do not disdain the old 

 animals. The Japanese eat dogs' flesh, but only ex- 

 ceptionally. 



Never was the ancient adage, " there is no accounting 

 for tastes," more quaintly illustrated than in a surprising 

 story related in the London Daily Telegraph of March 20, 

 1880 : — " One Peschka, an innkeeper of Neustadt, in 

 Bohemia, was bitten some weeks ago by his own house- 

 dog. Unwilling to slay the animal on bare suspicion of 



